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MoneyGram, Alibaba unit merger killed off

MoneyGram International Inc. shares fell more than 8% late Tuesday after the Texas-based money transfer company and Ant Financial Services group, an affiliate of China-based Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. , said they have agreed to end their merger agreement after months of wrangling with the U.S. government. The companies couldn’t obtain approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment, MoneyGram said in a statement. They plan to work together “on new strategic initiatives” around remittances and digital payments in Asian markets after the deal didn’t materialize, they said. “Despite our best efforts to work cooperatively with the U.S. government, it has now become clear that CFIUS will not approve this merger. We are disappointed in the termination of this compelling transaction, which would have created significant value for our stakeholders,” MoneyGram Chief Executive Alex Holmes said in the statement. Ant Financial in April upped the deal to buy MoneyGram to $18 a share, after a competitor came in with an unsolicited offer in the increasingly politicized takeover battle. The potential deal was first announced in January 2016. American depositary shares of Alibaba were flat late Tuesday, after ending the regular session up 6.5%. MoneyGram stock ended Tuesday’s trading 1% higher.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Send an RPR Mobile™ Report and Earn With MVP

By Susanne Dwyer

MVP Bug

NAR PULSE—Generate an RPR Mobile™ Mini Property Report via your iOS or Android device between now and Jan. 15 to earn a technology trends download from the REALTOR® Store and a chance to win an Apple Watch 3 from the Member Value Plus (MVP) Program! Act now to take advantage of RPR®’s school searching and reporting feature that offers REALTORS® even more opportunities to find the best fit for their clients.

Broker Summit Registration Opens Jan. 8
Register for the 2018 REALTOR® Broker Summit, NAR’s premier broker event, between Jan. 8-10 and receive a special code to access advance registration for REBarCamp Nashville—the largest FREE real estate technology training camp—before the general public. Learn more about NAR’s premier broker event, being held April 4-5 in Nashville, Tenn.!

NAR and Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 2018
How will you get involved with BGCA in 2018? More than 200 REALTOR® Associations, members and firms have reported involvement with their local Club since the partnership began. Are you looking to get involved this year? Visit NAR.realtor/BGCA for examples of how the REALTOR® family has connected with Clubs in their community, and how you can do the same! Get started.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

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Zillow: Gains in Housing Now Make It Worth $31.8 Trillion

By Susanne Dwyer

A banner year.

Another $2 trillion was added to the housing market in 2017, brought to a collective $31.8 trillion, according to a recently released report by Zillow. On an annual basis, home values increased 6.5 percent last year; values last expanded at a faster pace—8 percent—in 2013.

The additional $2 trillion, put another way, doubles Apple’s recent $900 billion valuation.

“This was a record year for home values, as the national housing stock reached record heights in 2017,” says Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow. “Strong demand from buyers and the ongoing inventory shortage keep pushing values higher, especially in some of the nation’s booming coastal markets.”

Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco were the most valuable major markets last year, at $2.7 trillion, $2.6 trillion and $1.4 trillion, respectively. No other exceeded $1 trillion. Columbus, Ohio, grew at the quickest pace, 15.1 percent, followed by San Jose, Calif., at 13.5 percent, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, at 12.3 percent, Seattle, Wash., at 11.7 percent, and Tampa, Fla., at 11.3 percent.

More than $485 billion, meanwhile, was spent on rent in 2017, the report shows. The figure is a 1 percent, or $4.9 billion, increase from 2016.

“Renters spent more than ever on rent this year, but the amount they spent grew at the slowest pace in recent years as more renters transitioned into homeownership and new rental supply slowed rent growth across the country,” Terrazas says.

According to Terrazas, housing this year is likely to maintain the status quo, even with changes to the tax code.

“Despite recent changes to federal tax laws that have historically made homeownership financially attractive, the long-term dynamics pushing up home values and rents are unlikely to change significantly in 2018,” Terrazas says.

For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Zillow: Gains in Housing Now Make It Worth $31.8 Trillion appeared first on RISMedia.

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Zillow: Gains in Housing Now Make It Worth $31.8 Trillion

By Susanne Dwyer

A banner year.

Another $2 trillion was added to the housing market in 2017, brought to a collective $31.8 trillion, according to a recently released report by Zillow. On an annual basis, home values increased 6.5 percent last year; values last expanded at a faster pace—8 percent—in 2013.

The additional $2 trillion, put another way, doubles Apple’s recent $900 billion valuation.

“This was a record year for home values, as the national housing stock reached record heights in 2017,” says Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow. “Strong demand from buyers and the ongoing inventory shortage keep pushing values higher, especially in some of the nation’s booming coastal markets.”

Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco were the most valuable major markets last year, at $2.7 trillion, $2.6 trillion and $1.4 trillion, respectively. No other exceeded $1 trillion. Columbus, Ohio, grew at the quickest pace, 15.1 percent, followed by San Jose, Calif., at 13.5 percent, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, at 12.3 percent, Seattle, Wash., at 11.7 percent, and Tampa, Fla., at 11.3 percent.

More than $485 billion, meanwhile, was spent on rent in 2017, the report shows. The figure is a 1 percent, or $4.9 billion, increase from 2016.

“Renters spent more than ever on rent this year, but the amount they spent grew at the slowest pace in recent years as more renters transitioned into homeownership and new rental supply slowed rent growth across the country,” Terrazas says.

According to Terrazas, housing this year is likely to maintain the status quo, even with changes to the tax code.

“Despite recent changes to federal tax laws that have historically made homeownership financially attractive, the long-term dynamics pushing up home values and rents are unlikely to change significantly in 2018,” Terrazas says.

For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Zillow: Gains in Housing Now Make It Worth $31.8 Trillion appeared first on RISMedia.

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Legal marijuana industry could generate $40 billion in economic impact by 2021

A new report released by Arcview Market Research on Tuesday says the legal marijuana industry is expected to generate nearly $40 billion in economic impact by 2021. That would be roughly a 150% increase in economic output from the $16 billion cannabis generated in 2017. The report provides estimates on cannabis’s total economic contribution, direct and indirect jobs created and tax receipts from each of the 35 states that are expected to have medical and, or recreational marijuana by 2021, according to a news release. “Across the country, Americans are worried about being able to find jobs and support their families,” Arcview Market Research Editor-in-Chief Tom Adams said in a statement. “The numerous employment opportunities created by the cannabis industry, especially in states that are legalizing adult use, cross the spectrum from retail and service jobs to science, technology and other traditional professions.” The report estimates that legalization of adult-use, or recreational marijuana sales in California, which began on Tuesday, will create nearly 146,000 cannabis-related jobs in the state in four years. As California joined some 28 other states, and the District of Columbia, that have legalized recreational marijuana stocks of companies tied to the industry saw big share gains on Tuesday.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Oil prices end lower, but stick close to highest finish in over 2 years

Oil settled lower Tuesday, as supply disruptions in the North Sea and Libya eased, but prices stuck close to the two-and-a-half-year high it settled at last week. Uncertainty surrounding output from Iran, in the wake of antigovernment protests, offered some support for prices, but analysts were skeptical of any big impact on production. February West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $60.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It’s settlement at $60.42 on Friday was the highest since June 2015.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Orrin Hatch announces retirement from Senate, opening door for Romney

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, announced Tuesday he will retire from the Senate, opening a path to the Senate for former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Hatch, a seven-term senator and the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, announced his retirement on Twitter. Romney is said to be preparing a run for the Utah Senate seat.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Tech shares rally on first trading day of 2018 led by chips, software

Tech shares rallied on the first day of trading in 2018 Tuesday with shares of chipmakers and software publishers leading the charge. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.3%, outpacing the 0.6% gain on the S&P 500 Index and the 0.2% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . The PHLX Semiconductor Index rallied 2.1%, led by a 6.4% jump in shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and a 4.8% surge in Micron Technology Inc. shares. Other chipmakers with notable gains were Nvidia Corp. , up 2.1%, Broadcom Ltd. , up 3.3%, and Teradyne Inc. , up 5.1%. Notable software gains included Electronic Arts Inc. , up 4%, Symantec Corp. , up 2.7%, and Salesforce.com Inc. , up 2.2%. Other big tech movers included Netflix Inc. , up 5%, and Alibaba Group Holding Inc. , up 5.8%, while shares of Facebook Inc. rose 2.7%, and shares of Alphabet Inc. and Apple Inc. were up nearly 2%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is a big buyer of bitcoin: WSJ

Founders Fund, the venture-capital firm co-founded by investor Peter Thiel, has bought hundreds of millions of dollars of bitcoin, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The bet is spread across the firm’s most recent funds, including one that began investing in mid-2017 that has made the cryptocurrency one of its first investments. Thiel co-founded PayPal Holdings Inc. and has been a prominent backer of President Donald Trump. He also made headlines when it emerged that he was the billionaire that financed the lawsuit brought by former wrestler Hulk Hogan against news website Gawker, that led to its collapse. Founder funds has more than $3 billion in assets under management and owns stakes in companies including Facebook Inc. , Airbnb Inc., SpaceX and Lyft.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Gold prices mark highest finish since September

Gold prices rose Tuesday for an eighth session in a row, settling at their highest level since September. Prices got a boost from a weaker dollar, with the ICE U.S. Dollar Index down a fifth-straight session, and concerns surrounding protests in Iran feeding safe-haven demand for the precious metal. February gold added $6.80, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,316.10 an ounce. That was the highest finish for a most-active futures contract since Sept. 20, according to FactSet data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News